The Wandering Island Factory Read online

  Chapter 25

  The trees did as theory said they would, and Jason and Nathan went ashore in a tandem paddleboat the following morning, taking the dirt bike with them.

  Gina elected to stay and continue working with the jetskis while the guys went with their GPS to find the source of all the lights.

  The first marine engine she had ever taken apart was a little intimidating, but proved to be less damaged than she feared. Nothing had seized, no dirt or grime had penetrated its few holes. It simply required hours of dismantling, cleaning, and re-assembly. Fresh, unopened oilcans were plentiful in the maintenances shack, and she seemed to have all the supplies she would need.

  With Ava acting as her assistant, they had their first jetski put back together by lunch.

  Ava clicked on the vest, sat on the seat, flipped the switch and turned the key.

  Twiiickahahahaha! The jetski said, puffing blue smoke as it idled a little rough.

  Gina waved the smoke from her eyes, but the puff seemed to dissipate on its own after a few minutes. It started to run clean, without smoking at all, and the idle quickly smoothed.

  Ava smiled at her sister, "Should I?"

  Gina checked the tide, it seemed safe enough. "Why not?"

  Ava twisted the handle and disappeared behind a spray of mist and a Kawasaki roar.

  It had been chained for a reason. This one was a top end two-seater, almost a mini-powerboat in its own right.

  Ava came screaming back into view as she rooster-tailed past them and out into the surf, then circled back.

  They had a very limited supply of fuel, but a little horseplay couldn't be helped.

  As soon as its engine cooled, they drained the oil again, checked it for grit and debris, then topped it off and gave it a clean bill of health.

  "Maybe we should go looking for them?" Ava said as it started getting dark.

  Gina was worried too, but knew there was little any of them could do. "Say the worst happened. The bike broke down and they had to walk back. Maybe it flipped and one of them is hurt. Even if we went ashore, I don't see how we could even find them, let alone help them. We don't know where they are, and we'd be on foot. They could be twenty miles away."

  Ava was horrified by the worst case when Makayla stepped in. "That bike probably just gave up on them and they have to walk back. That's all."

  Ava was panicked. "What if they were captured, what if it was a criminal gang? Ex-convicts from a prison or—"

  "Then they're probably dead by now," Gina said.

  Ava flipped out while Makayla smacked Gina on the back of the head for suggesting such an awful thing. "Don't terrorize your little sister," the mother said.

  Gina rubbed the smacked back of her head, "They have a flair gun, they would have used it if they got into trouble. My 'little sister' knows that."

  "What if the flair didn't work?" Ava said.

  Gina walked off, "Unbelievable."

  The next morning, Gina got started on the second jetski they had brought up. It too looked to be in fine condition, just as when she inspected them underwater.

  Three days had passed as they waited, when the boys finally showed. . . on foot, an hour before dusk.

  They waved, then sat in the paddle boat, too exhausted to go any further.

  Ava, not needing an excuse, powered over in the jetski and towed them back to the boat. They were holding up supper.

  "So, you got a jetski working, I see," Nathan said stuffing his face; they had left with only two days worth of food.

  "Two," Gina corrected, "and slow down with the shovel, you'll bust a gut." She pointed her fork at Jason, "You too. What'd you find?"

  "Well—" Jason started.

  "That bike runs like crap is what we found," Nathan said. "Damn thing locked up halfway there! Never got close enough to see nothing. Spent one day trying to fix the damn bike, then had to walk back or make the walking three times as far!"

  "They might have had a car and given us a ride," Jason said.

  "They might have had a gun and given us some lead," Nathan shouted back. "With a dirt bike, there was a chance we could outrun them on, like, animal paths and off road—"

  "Not with that bike we weren't," Jason said.

  Gina elbowed Jason in the ribs. It was now clear to everyone that the boys had argued the entire time. "That leaves stay, while we're over the maintenance shack, or go, try to relocate and anchor offshore and jetski in. Which, might not be that bad of an idea." She nudged him with her elbow this time, "You did say you could see the lights, that means they can't be that far inland, right?"

  "I suspect," Jason said, "but I don't know for sure."

  "Well," Gina said, "while you two were playing, I've been keeping notes. The underwater forest not only dampens the currents around the area, it also dampens the waves. We haven't made a single amp since we got here, we're discharging daily. I figure we have a week or two before we're stuck."

  "What about being tugged out with—"

  "A jetski?" Gina laughed, "Like an ant trying to move a tree? We'd have better luck paddling. We have to relocate, the only question is how soon."

  While parked in an ideal location, directly over the maintenance shed, they attempted to salvage all they could, while they could, bringing up three more jetskis, two boxes of marginally useful tools, and just about any spare part that looked to be in a disintegrating cardboard box.

  After three days, they waited for high tide, pulled anchor, and powered out into the coastal stream to start their drift south, all without deploying the sail.

  Drifting was easier said than done. Jason stood as Nathan entered the cabin as they changed shifts. "I know the impulse to straighten up the ship, but you have to fight it. It uses way too much power to try to keep the boat parallel with the shore. Let it drift. Let it spin clockwise because of all that extra drag on the starboard side. Apply the thrust only when the aft is facing the shore, then cut thrust as soon as it starts drifting clockwise again." Jason let go and stood behind Nathan as the aft drifted clockwise and slowly started to align.

  Nathan ramped up the thrust as the sluggish boat pushed away from shore. He held it at full thrust for almost a minute, then slowly backed it down to nothing as the boat continued to drift clockwise. It was a little disorienting, dizzying if it was rotating much faster.

  "You've got it," Jason said, then left for bed down in the metal sea box.

  By the time they were aligned with the GPS of the lights, the batteries were down to thirty percent. Barely enough to keep the lights on.